Lonzo Ball has become the most demonized rookie ever

The Lakers most prized rookie has not been a very good prize to say the least.

When the Lakers drafted UCLA passing sensation Lonzo Ball out of Chino Hills, California (literally about 10 minutes away from me), many Lakers fans listening to Magic Johnson or Lonzo's father LaVar Ball was convinced that almost immediately Lonzo was going to be a star. The Lakers are 20 games into the brand new season and you can legit say Lonzo Ball has only had 4 or 5 above average games.

That's not to say he's been completely bad. He's top 10 among point guards in defensive efficiency (though he dropped a bit last night after he had to guard Lou Williams and Austin Rivers). He's the youngest player in NBA history to record two triple doubles. However, he's also the worst offensive player in terms of shooting the league has seen over the last 30 years. Lonzo Ball is currently averaging 8.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists which is an okay stat line, until you look at his shooting percentages. Ball is shooting 30.9% from the field, 24.5% from three and a whopping 42.9% from the free throw line which is worst than DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond and Dwight Howard currently. Ball is also shooting a worst FT% than what Shaquille O'Neal use to shoot.

Laker fans would tell you that they didn't draft Lonzo Ball to be a scorer or a shooter and that's ultimately true. But keep in mind, the biggest thing to have in this league especially if you are a point guard, is a jump shot or some kind of offensive game. It's all cool and dandy that Ball is a good passer, probably the second best behind Ben Simmons. But that doesn't signify his impact.

Ball was made out to be the hero and the Savior of the franchise by Magic Johnson after he traded away D'Angelo Russell. Turns out Ball isn't the best Laker rookie currently. If you look at Kyle Kuzma, he has probably been the second best rookie so far, consistent with his offense, has a elite shot already, and is by far the most impactful Laker this season.